


Angora

by LenoraLana



Category: The Incredible Hulk (TV)
Genre: Other, Werewolf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 06:06:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17441357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenoraLana/pseuds/LenoraLana
Summary: My next/final attempt to write a story where Dr. David Banner meets a werewolf and befriends her. This story is written from first-person perspective, and it will flow wherever the wind may take us.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 

“Damnit.”

 

I barely recognized my own voice when the mild curse escaped my lips. I rarely spoke to anyone and, while I used to talk aloud to myself or perhaps my favorite crack in the wall, I had kicked that habit quite a while back. I wasn’t sure why, maybe I just needed to give the other tenants in this building one less reason to think I was insane or dangerous.

 

Then again, who I was kidding? They already knew I was dangerous. The jury was still out, at least in my mind, as to whether or not I am insane. In some ways, I think part of me cracked a long time ago and I’d never be quite right again. But wasn’t it true that if you could still  _ ask _ if you were sane, it meant you were?

 

My attention turned back to the annoyance that made me swear aloud in the first place. 

 

_ Drip, _

 

_ Drip. _

 

_ Drip. _

 

Yeah, you would think that that wouldn’t be so annoying. But if you happen to have very sensitive hearing, where even the smallest sound is amplified tenfold, it can easily get on your nerves.

 

If you don’t believe me, imagine how it sounds when there is a small, consistent noise in the middle of the night, when there are no other noises (household or otherwise) to drown it out. Now pretend that that sound has a dial attached to it, like the sound is on the radio, and someone sets the speaker next to your ear and turns it up loud.

 

You see, my apartment is adequate for my needs because it provides me with walls to give me personal space, but I don’t have much in here. Barely any furniture, no luxury items, there’s not really anything in here at all. So that means noise can echo through the place more easily, sometimes eerily. 

 

Add to that a very sensitive sense of hearing like I have, as I just said, and… yeah.

 

I sighed aloud and went into the bathroom to try and do something about this. I wasn’t particularly skilled at plumbing, so… about the best I could do was look at the shower head and notice it dripping. 

 

Drip, drip, drip. Into the tub, the little droplets of water splattering on the smooth, white surface. 

 

It became evident to me, not for the first time, how I really had no life beyond this apartment (at least not  _ enough _ of one beyond it) that I could stand here, transfixed, watching little splats of water landing like that.

 

Or maybe I was just trying to avoid the inevitable. In order to fix this problem… I would… have to… go…

 

….Outside.

 

It should just be a simple thing, right? The shower head was leaking, so… if this was bothering me so much, just take some of that money I had stashed in my mattress and go buy a new one. They were easy enough to replace, right?

 

But that meant going  _ outside. _ It meant walking down the street and around the block a little ways to the local hardware store. I should count my blessings that it wasn’t far at all, less than a quarter mile really, but… for me, going outside was a very daunting prospect.

 

My thoughts began to go in circles as I began to overanalyze what should have been a very, very simple decision. I’m sure that every other person on the planet wouldn’t have been thinking so hard about this. They would have made the decision after barely a few seconds’ thought. But… I wasn’t exactly like other people.

 

_ I should just wait until Uncle Richard gets back in town, _ I thought. Usually he handled things whenever I needed something anyway, allowing me to avoid interacting with the public in any capacity. I knew I was being a little selfish as I stood here, ruefully resenting him for being out of town when I needed something, but… really, he had a life, too. Much more of an active life than I had, and he was visiting his sick niece in a neighboring town. Could I really fault him for that? It wasn’t the girl’s fault if she was ill, and she deserved to see her family.

 

It’s just… I didn’t really have anyone, and I’d pretty much given up on trying to make friends or reach out to people. Uncle Richard was the person who paid my bills and pretty much left me alone in this apartment. It was only because of him that I had a working phone, electricity, hot running water and even a functional TV set… which I rarely used.

 

What’s more was that “Uncle” Richard was not really related to me at all. It’s just what I called him, and… well, the reason he’s “Uncle” Richard is a really long story I don’t want to get into just yet. I just know that he only pays for everything out of guilt, and because he understands why I can’t be out in the public much. In some ways… maybe I am using him or at least taking advantage of him, but what choice do I have?

 

But again… that’s a long story that I’d rather not go into right now.

 

My attention was once again snagged by the irritating sounds in my bathroom.

 

Drip.

 

_ Drip. _

 

**_Drip._ **

 

Why did this bother me so much? Perhaps it was because the shower and the tub were a couple of the very few luxuries I had that actually brought me some pleasure and enjoyment. For me, there was nothing quite like filling up a tub with hot water and immersing yourself into its steamy bliss. Maybe it was a little like being “back in the womb”, or maybe it was just the closest thing I had to a warm embrace.

 

So… I guess that’s why I took it a little personally when anything related to it wasn’t working right. This was the one area in my life that was supposed to provide me with comfort, it wasn’t supposed to be irritating the hell out of me like it was now.

 

Therefore, I returned full circle to my previous thought like a mobius strip. I could either go into town and risk anything that might happen whenever I set a toe out the door, or I could just stay inside and put up with this until Uncle Richard returned to his house and I could get ahold of him.

 

Then of course, that lead to a new flock of rationalizations and excuses. Assuming I made it to the hardware store without incident, what then? I didn’t know anything about shower heads or how to find the proper one… Uncle Richard knew that. He took care of that kind of thing. Not to mention I’d have to interact with the cashier when I was purchasing the item, assuming I could  _ find  _ the right one… 

 

That was almost enough to spark a small panic attack in me.

 

Round and round the mobius strip. My mind was pretty good at that sometimes. I didn’t even realize I’d been standing here mesmerized by the dripping water and trapped in my own circular thoughts until I happened to glance through the bathroom door, at the clock in the other room. I must have been standing here for at least an hour....

 

Well… maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible if I went out. What was the big deal, anyway? No one had bothered me for a long time, even though I knew that they probably still talked about me and were wary of my presence in their town, after what happened a year ago.

 

I did go out periodically anyway, but… the difference there was that I was usually slipping out through the back window, the one that faced the nearby wooded area. With the intent of going out into the woods for a while, where there weren’t usually any people… especially not after midnight, which was when I usually went.

 

For personal reasons.

 

The only reason why  _ this _ was bothering me so much was because it was the middle of the afternoon, where I would be outside in broad daylight. Not to mention going into town meant I would probably be  _ seen _ by someone… any number of people by which I didn’t want to be seen.

 

Still… maybe part of me was a glutton for punishment, or maybe I just felt a little more bold today. Perhaps cabin fever was enough to drive anyone to go out, even those who… sort of needed to be self-imprisoned for their own good.

 

I suppose there was even a part of me that missed being around people… even if I didn’t have much to hope for or expect once I went outside. Was I really getting that lonely, or that desperate, that I might actually crave the jeers or other abuse?

 

Either that, or… perhaps it was getting to be  _ that _ time of year yet again… but I’d rather not think about  _ that _ until and unless I knew it actually was happening.

 

Finally, I blew out a breath and made a beeline toward the front door. I stopped just in front of it and glanced down at myself to double-check my attire. My appearance seemed alright, I mostly just needed to make sure I was wearing more than jeans and a sports bra. When you pretty much lived alone, you stopped caring about what you wore and sometimes you could even afford to forget modesty.

 

Then again… who was I kidding? Sometimes it was hard to be modest when you had a problem where you tended to explode out of your clothes anyway. I’d been forced to streak through town a few times in the past, at least enough to where I felt almost no shame about it anymore. I just didn’t want to get arrested for indecent exposure.

 

I opened the door. My fingers felt like lead as they encircled the doorknob and the hinges squeaked shrilly, indicating a need for W240. I felt almost like I was opening the door to leave King Tut's Tomb, particularly as the moderately fresher air from beyond my apartment filled my nostrils and replaced some of the staleness behind me.

 

_ Just go already, _ part of my brain ordered, and I treated this like ripping off a bandage. Just get it over with and it’ll hurt less.

 

I was actually a little surprised to find myself halfway down the street before I’d even noticed how far I had gone. My heart thudded softly in my rib cage, remembering what happened some other times I had been out here. Thankfully though, there didn’t seem to be many people out and about right now, and any passing cars held drivers who seemed content to pass on by without bothering with me.

 

I just focused on pressing forward to my destination, keeping my head down and my hands stuffed in my pockets. I heard the sounds of birds chirping, neighborhood dogs barking, incoherent chatter of conversations that had nothing to do with me. I heard the shriek of a loose fan belt in a car that raced by me.

 

Typical noises you’d hear out on the town. I was acutely aware of each and every one, including the loud beeping of someone’s smoke detector as I passed one house. I could even smell the smoke from all the way out here, but judging from the raised voices and mild commotion going on inside, it was just a mild problem in the kitchen and it sounded like the family within already had the problem under control.

 

I was so intent on listening to my surroundings, and perhaps a tad overwhelmed by just being outside… that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I had already gone in the wrong direction a full mile before I noticed where I was, forcing me to turn around and backtrack. I hesitated a moment before pressing onward, inhaling deeply and letting it out slowly.

 

My nerves really were on edge. I felt alert, like my own shadow might come at me with a pitchfork. I was anxious, but I had to keep that under control or I would really give the neighborhood a reason to be anxious themselves.

 

More people were beginning to populate the streets now, particularly as school buses dropped off children and parents came out to meet them. Great, I’d picked a lovely time to go out, didn’t I? Now anyone who recognized my face or had a beef with me would be wary of the Big Bad Wolf potentially going after their children.

 

To their credit, quite a few of them seemed oblivious to my presence as I walked past their yards with my head down. I supposed that I could thank the hoodie that Uncle Richard had given me; it allowed me to conceal much of my features. I did catch a couple of looks out of the corner of my eye though, and I thought I heard one person scream a little as she rushed her family inside their house.

 

Yeah… I think I recognized that voice. I couldn’t blame her, considering what happened a year ago to her personally.

 

All that mattered for now was that I was  _ finally _ nearing the hardware store. This simple walk outside in the neighborhood had been far more nerve wracking than it needed to be. You’d think I had been braving a sea of hungry sharks to reach a faraway island the way my pulse raced and my heart pounded softly, but… for me, the danger was tangible. I was dangerous. And I still lived in a neighborhood that hadn’t forgotten what happened a year ago, so… yeah.

 

When I finally saw the hardware store just up ahead, neatly tucked in between the Chinese restaurant and the little office building, it should have been nice and simple from there. But of course, it wasn’t.

 

I passed a phone booth that was currently occupied by someone I should’ve noticed as a familiar face. Then again, I rarely interacted with anyone but Uncle Richard anymore, so I was rather rusty and a lot of faces tended to blend together for me nowadays.

 

The guy completed his phone call in a hurry and stepped out of the booth, already advancing on my position after a second’s hesitation. He was fairly tall, although considering my height was only 5’2, there were plenty of people in this town who surpassed that. I quickened my pace, not wanting any trouble.

 

He caught up to me and roughly grabbed my arms. I gritted my teeth and grunted, attempting to twist out of his grip, but he held firm and dug his fingertips painfully into my skin. I resisted the impulse to kick his shin. I knew a lot of the wounds in this town were still fresh, even if it had been a year, and I wouldn’t let it be said that I was “vicious” or that I had hurt somebody. Not unless he  _ really _ forced the issue.

 

“Hey!” I heard someone shout. I wasn’t sure who, it wasn’t the person holding me. “What are you doing?”

 

I tried to twist out of the man’s grip again. I found that his hold had loosened a little, perhaps in response to whoever was calling him out. He had a beef with me, obviously, but he also didn’t particularly seem to want trouble with someone else.

 

I found myself suddenly being shoved off-balance, where I landed hard against the sidewalk and my head hit the brick exterior of the Chinese restaurant. I was vaguely aware of two sets of rapid footfalls, one moving away from me as the jerk was rushing off, one moving directly toward me.

 

The good news was that the cloth of my hoodie had served as a buffer when my face connected with the brick. It probably prevented me from getting scraped, at least. 

 

The bad news, however, was that when I had instinctively shot out my hand to catch myself, it had gone right into broken bottle lying right there on the sidewalk. I could already smell my own blood and I felt the sting making itself more noticeable as a warm stickiness trickled down my palm.

 

In the next instant, I felt hands touching my shoulders, causing me to start. I tried to jump to my feet, though in my current state I just kind of ended up jolting upward in a jagged manner, where I found myself leaning against the front of the Chinese restaurant, panting a little. I somehow felt a little exposed when I realized my hood had fallen back and my jacket had popped open, even if I was dressed decently underneath.

 

“It’s okay,” came a gentle response from the owner of the hands. “I just want to help. Let me see your hand.”

 

Somehow, his tone and his mannerisms did have a calming effect on me, at least enough to make me stop and get a good look at him. He was a little taller than me, having a fairly average height. He had short curly brown hair and a clean-shaven face. His keen, brown eyes looked me over intently, as though checking my head and any other exposed flesh he could see for potential injury, then his full attention turned to my hand.

 

He held my wrist in his gentle grasp and took my fingers in his other hand, carefully uncurling them away from my palm so he could get a better look. He murmured softly as he did this, perhaps sensing that I was a bit… skittish.

 

I wasn’t sure why I was staying in place at this point, or why I had permitted his touch for this long. Anyone else, I would have ripped my hand away by now and I’d already be brushing past them to get… well, anywhere that wasn’t here.

 

“You should get to a doctor,” he said after a moment of careful scrutiny. His hands maintained their positions on my wrist and fingers, but his eyes now met mine. “There is a hospital just down the block, I can take you there.”

 

I tore my gaze away and felt my jacket scraping against the brick behind me as I tried to scoot back from him. I gave my wrist a sharp tug and he released it, apparently having no real intent to hold me in place. “Be careful,” he told me gently but firmly. “That’s a pretty deep laceration and there is a piece of glass lodged in your hand.”

 

When I took another step back and placed my good hand over my injured one, his forehead creased and added as if in mild alarm, “That glass could hurt you more if you don’t get it removed by a doctor.” He was reaching for my arm. “Please, come with me.” He also seemed like he wanted to reach over to gently peel my good hand away from my injured one, and I thought I heard him murmur something about the possibility of infection.

 

I took another three steps backward, steering out of his reach. When he opened his mouth to say something more, I turned and began to run.

 

I heard him call out after me, perhaps he even made a moderate effort to follow me, but I picked up my pace and kept going. I zipped across the street and ran halfway up a different street just to cross over onto a different one. 

 

I wasn’t sure when I stopped running, but it was only after I was fairly certain I had lost him. I probably ran far longer than I really needed to, but I just wanted to get away from him.

 

I ducked into an alley momentarily to catch my breath and get some bearing. Only then did I finally look at my hand, which now had had a fair chance to heal… a gift of my rapid metabolism. The blood that had already oozed out was still present, but I could see obvious signs of healing. I lifted my hand to my mouth to suck the blood off, then I re-examined the injury; the skin had healed up around the glass shard, mostly.

 

I sighed, knowing that this was gonna be uncomfortable. I dug my fingertips into the flesh around it, grimacing as my hand protested. A small amount of blood gushed anew as I pried the wedge from my flesh, as freshly healed tissues were torn again and the injury began the process to heal itself properly without obstruction.

 

After I glanced around to make doubly certain no one was around or paying me any attention, I tossed the glass shard aside and sucked on my hand until I no longer tasted iron. When I pulled my hand away from my mouth, the area was still tender but barely showed anything that resembled more than a paper cut.

 

I also knew that even that mark would vanish by the time I reached my apartment.

 

I took a deep breath, and I decided to make haste and just get back to my room, ASAP.

 

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

 

I pretty much lived on tap water for the rest of the evening. My fridge didn’t have anything in it, particularly since I’d already eaten everything that Uncle Richard had stocked in it before he left town. I honestly hadn’t thought it would last me that long anyway, and I suspected even Uncle Richard figured as much.

 

Which was why he had left me some cash… which I had stashed into my mattress. 

 

Well, I supposed I could always order takeout. But I also didn’t want to deal with any people for the remainder of the night. With my luck, a pizza delivery boy might be someone who was, or at least associated with, someone who’d been affected by what happened a year ago.

 

That was another reason why I didn’t like going places personally. There were some shop owners who even found ways to refuse my business or even have me kicked out. The only way I got anything I needed to get in this town, most of the time, was because of Uncle Richard. I’m sure there were people who knew of his association with me, and the fact that he paid my bills, but… I don’t know. I think in their own way, people felt sorry for him, plus the fact that he was wealthy enough to throw some cash around was enough for some people.

 

That was just typical, though. Hate the monster, but pity the average citizen even if he was helping to take care of the monster from a distance. Even if the monster was trying to steer clear of people, be on her best behavior and hadn’t bothered a single soul for at least a year.

 

Not to mention… I never  _ asked _ to become a monster in the first place.

 

I was hungry. Normally on nights like this, I would slip out my back window and head into the wilderness to see if I could snag a deer or some other animal I could snack on in my alternate form. But… I just didn’t want to go out tonight. I didn’t want to risk being seeing.

 

I sighed and took a moment to brush my fingers against my rib cage. Well, I still felt meat on my bones. There was one thing I had to watch out for, and that was… well, if I got too thin and too hungry, my animal side would take over and I might lose complete control. There was always a slim risk that if I got that hungry, that feral… I might go after the nearest piece of meat I could find without intending to do so. That’s the reason why it was important for me to keep myself fed, besides the obvious fact of staying healthy, because… in the city, the nearest convenient piece of meat would probably be a human.

 

You see, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a werewolf. But unlike in the legends or the stuff in horror flicks, my transformation has nothing to do with the moon. I can change at will, shifting from large, hairy, four-legged wolf back into human at any time.

 

The only downsides are… well, for one thing, it means I have to live my life as a freak. Plus there’s the fact that my moods can sometimes be unpredictable, I tend to go through a lot of clothes if I don’t have a chance to take them off before I transform, and I tend to scare the hell out of anyone who sees me in wolf form.

 

I spent the rest of the night staring restlessly at the ceiling, no longer even noticing the annoying  _ drip drip drip _ of the shower head. Eventually, I finally managed to drift off without incident, where I awoke several hours later…

 

Yeah, I woke up after a restless sleep… to what end? I had nothing to wake up for. It’s not like I had anything like every other person on the planet had, no job to go to, no social life, I had no real reason to go outside.

 

Except maybe… to actually go into town and use some of that cash this time. To get some food. Maybe even that stupid replacement shower head.

 

Maybe I could even just grab a quick bite to eat… if I could suffer through going into a restaurant and possibly having people stare at me, if not worse.

 

Hunger continued to gnaw at me. I instinctively felt my ribs to double-check whether my metabolism had burned off my stored-up body fat yet… well, I still felt I had at least a couple of days before I might start to get nasty.

 

I had a responsibility to take care of myself and keep the urges of the wolf appeased, though… more for the benefit of the humans living around me than myself, even. I was going to have take a chance and get some groceries, at least. Or maybe I could stop at a deli or something.

 

If the people around here didn’t like it, tough. They should just be grateful I was trying to stay out of their way as much as possible and take steps that would prevent my wolf side from eating  _ them. _

 

You see… I think that’s a huge part of the reason why I am able to transform at will, even if I sometimes transform when I get mad or don’t really mean to. It’s because… well, while I am in wolf form, part of me is still human because my mind and my identity are largely intact and aware of what’s going on. In turn… the wolf is still somewhat present even when I am in human form. We are a permanent, integral part of each other.

 

So… I took a deep breath and ventured out, after putting up my hood and stuffing a bit of cash into my britches.

 

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

 

Surprisingly, eating out wasn’t all that bad. Or maybe they just couldn’t complain because I ate like a horse and I had enough cash to cover my tab and leave a moderate tip afterward. I was comfortably full now, and I no longer felt like the wolf within me wanted to bare its fangs and explode out of my skin to go find its own meal.

 

I would be ravenous again within the next day or two if I didn’t maintain my diet, but… I would worry about that then.

 

On my way home, I glanced up at the sky to notice that there was still a fair bit of daylight left. I wasn’t entirely certain what drew me in the direction I ended up going, but… perhaps I still wanted to see if I could do something about that ridiculous shower head. Or maybe, for whatever reason, I was in a devil-may-care mood right now and I was sometimes a glutton for punishment.

 

For this reason, I found myself on the street that had the Chinese restaurant, the office building, the hardware store squished in-between them… and the cursed phone booth that had held that jerk who attacked me yesterday.

 

Thankfully, today, there was no sign of Jerk Dude and the street was largely empty. I saw a fair number of heads inside the Chinese restaurant as I peeked into the window while passing, but no one seemed to pay me any mind.

 

I made a beeline for the front door of the hardware store and stepped inside without ceremony, hearing the little bell above the door jingle as I entered. Other than a couple of brief glances in my direction, everyone seemed content to focus on their own reasons for being there.

 

It was a very small store, so small that you could almost see the back of it from the front if you stood on the side where you could see past several rows of shelves.

 

“May I help you?” a gentlemanly voice addressed me.

 

I looked to my left, and I nearly backed right up to the door again. It was that same man I’d seen yesterday, the one who looked at my hand after I fell. What was he doing here? Was he shopping for something, too?

 

That was when I noticed the name tag on his shirt, along with the fact that he was dressed somewhat professionally. 

 

David Barns. 

 

Okay, so apparently that’s why he was here now, and why he was in the area yesterday. He  _ worked _ here. He probably wasn’t wearing the name tag when I saw him yesterday because he’d just gotten off work or something, right?

 

“Uh….” I wasn’t sure how I wanted to proceed here. I self-consciously slipped my hands into my pockets, and I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes at him when I noticed his own gaze had flicked sharply toward my right hand. Had I been quick enough to conceal it, or had he noticed?

 

He was definitely looking, though. 

 

I wasn’t sure why I was even bothering to try and avoid notice anymore. He appeared to be one of the people who didn’t know anything about me, perhaps he was new to town, but surely he would hear stuff about me soon enough if he hadn’t already. Still… I didn’t want to get friendly. I’d tried having friends before, it never ended well. And there were too many people in this town who hated me, who would love to either hurt anyone associated with me or try to indoctrinate them into the werewolf-hating club.

 

If this guy knew what was best for him, he would just help me find my stupid shower head and then leave me the hell alone. For his own good, and mine.

 

“I’m looking for a shower head,” I said simply, trying to avoid his gaze. “Mine is leaking.”

 

“Hm. Can you tell me the size and brand?”

 

….Yeah, I knew from the start that I was an idiot in this area. He was asking me for the specifications, which… I didn’t have a clue. Uncle Richard would know or he could easily find out, but since he wasn’t here…

 

“I… don’t know,” I sighed, scuffing my shoe self-consciously on the floor. 

 

“Could you bring your shower head in? I could take a look and see if we have one that would fit the bill.”

 

“I... “ I found myself meeting his eyes briefly, and I saw them snap from the pocket where my right hand was stuffed back to my face. “I don’t know, maybe I could try to bring it in tomorrow,” I said, only half-serious. Maybe I wouldn’t come back at all.

 

“Do you live far from here?” David asked. “I could stop by your place and take a look at it after my shift ends.”

 

I felt my throat constrict. He seriously wanted to come over to my place? To look at my stupid leaky shower head?

 

Did I really want him to come over and start poking around in my place?

 

“N-no, that’s okay,” I finally said, backing up. “Never mind.”

 

“Wait,” he held out a hand before I could go too far. He didn’t quite touch my arm, but I felt he might have if I hadn’t stopped. “How is your hand?”

 

“Fine,” I snipped, a bit too testily. “It’s fine.” With that, I turned and practically bolted out the door, barely hearing the bells jangle and the door slam shut behind me on its own accord.

 

Well, I knew I wouldn’t be going back to  _ that _ store anytime soon. I was just gonna go back home to my measly apartment, lock the door, and just try to stay in there until Uncle Richard came back to town… or until the hunger pangs got too much to bear again.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 

Well, at least the drippy shower head wasn’t bothering me that much now. I’m sure that the consistency of the drips hadn’t changed, if anything I think it had gotten  _ more _ leaky than it was before. But… I guess my prior annoyance toward it was largely stemmed by cabin fever and a lack of anything else to focus on.

 

Now… I kinda had other things to think about, and I was still trying to process everything that had happened over the last couple of days.

 

I’m not sure why I felt so… unnerved over this David Barns guy. Frankly, there was just something about the person where he could  _ really _ get under your skin a little, maybe. And I don’t even mean in a bad way. 

 

Perhaps it was a testament to how lonely I was, not to mention the self-isolation I have been in for a year now. There was just something about that guy, where it was almost as if his senses could penetrate your barriers or see that something was going on even if you didn’t say a word.

 

When he’d asked me if he could come over and look at my shower head, there had been a certain way that he looked into my eyes. Almost like… there was an ulterior motive to wanting to come over. 

 

And maybe… just maybe, there was nothing shady about it.

 

I was probably just being silly. I was dwelling on this simply because he was the first person outside of Uncle Richard who’d gone out of his way to be nice to me in a long time. But… just because he wanted to check on my hand and perhaps go out of his way to check on my shower head… it didn’t mean he would automatically accept me if he found out I was a werewolf.

 

I just couldn’t take that chance, especially in  _ this _ town. People just couldn’t take what was different, you know? I couldn’t blame them for hating me, and I’m sure that some of them probably still wanted me dead on at least some level… or at the very least, it was easiest for them to shun me when they saw me, and try to forget that I existed when they didn’t.

 

I made it easy for them. I made it so that they rarely had to endure the mere sight of me, and I had Uncle Richard to thank for that. The one blessing I had on this planet, even if I couldn’t have any friends, was that he felt guilty enough over what happened a year ago to continue paying my rent and bills for me. That meant I didn’t have to subject the rest of the planet to my presence, and sometimes… it was almost like even I could sort of pretend I didn’t exist.

 

I really hoped that Uncle Richard would be back soon. He would no doubt come over to check on me once he returned, and I highly doubted he would be gone much longer. Once he came back, things would go back to normal and we could get that shower head replaced, he would restock my fridge with groceries, and then I could just put everything that happened over the last couple of days behind me once normalcy was re-established. 

 

I decided to quit pacing around my room and at least try to relax. Maybe I could see what was on the TV… nah, I wasn’t in the mood. I sometimes liked to catch up on the news or something, but most of the time I prefered to ignore it. Television was just a painful reminder of the outside world and how I would never be able to participate as an active member out in it.

 

I didn’t like reading books either, even though I had a few tucked away in a box under my bed, courtesy of Uncle Richard. I used to read a fair bit when I was younger, but these days… my head was already far too full of its own words, I didn’t need to put more in it. 

 

Or perhaps it was a simple fact that… wolves didn’t read, nor did they have any use for a TV. The primary desire of a wolf is to stay fed, sleep, and pretty much stay within your designated territory I guess. Particularly if it meant avoiding occupied areas where I might otherwise attract unwanted attention.

 

I decided to just try and sleep for a while. If I could just maintain a low-energy-usage mode for a while, hopefully it would mean I could last longer without food and maybe the time until Uncle Richard returned would pass more quickly.

 

I curled up on my bed, sinking my head into my soft cotton pillow and pulling the covers up over me. Apart from the hot bath and shower, this was the only other source of comfort I really had to turn to.

 

0o0o0o0o0o0o

 

When you’re living in isolation, it’s amazing how time can go turtle-slow for a while, to the point where you feel like each second is a tangible pinprick to suffer through. Then when something does finally happen, it all washes away and the time goes by just a bit too quickly.

 

Uncle Richard finally returned, which broke up the montonty for me. When I heard his familiar rap on the door (we had a secret knock), I thought my face was going to split in half with the biggest grin ever. It wasn’t like he ever stayed long, nor did we enjoy each other’s company  _ that _ much, but I simply felt a little safer with him back in town. My one and only ally had returned, and now I could get some of the things I needed.

 

He was a balding man in his mid-fifties, not too short and not too tall. I wouldn’t exactly call him handsome, but he wasn’t particularly ugly either. He was just a little overweight, though his fine clothes somehow managed to prevent you from noticing that too much. He certainly was a snappy dresser.

 

The only reason it hurt me to look at him was due to the strong resemblance he had to Jake. Those features would always haunt me as a constant reminder of what happened a year ago, but… best not to dwell on that for now.

 

“How’s your niece?” I asked conversationally as Richard entered the apartment.

 

“She’s getting better,” Richard said. “They told me she should be out of the hospital by the end of the month.”

 

“That’s good,” I said, and I was pretty much ready to drop the subject. Yeah, I was kind of callous and I often gave a vibe I didn’t care about other individuals much. Maybe I was self-absorbed, but the fact was… I didn’t know his niece personally, and there wasn’t much that I could do even if I  _ did _ know her.

 

Besides… both Richard and I still knew what happened a year ago, when he’d asked me to get personally involved and “help” his son, Jake. I wasn’t going to get involved with  _ any _ of his family members again beyond polite inquiries. If his niece was okay, then cool. Even if she was dead, well, it wouldn’t affect me or my living situation personally so long as “Uncle” Richard continued to pay my bills.

 

…..Yes, I know I’m an asshole. The kid was innocent and had done nothing to me to deserve this attitude. Still… just… yeah, I had issues with Richard and just people in general.

 

Richard took one look in my fridge and I could see the wheels immediately turning in his head. He was forming a rough draft of a grocery list in his head. “Have you been out hunting?” he asked me. His tone was casual, but I could see the look in his eye.

 

We both knew that he hated it when I went out to hunt, even if I felt it was necessary sometimes. I did have a wolf-side that needed the thrill of the hunt sometimes, plus… if I happened to run out of food and if going into town became unbearable, I had to do something.

 

“No,” I said, narrowing my eyes in annoyance when he nodded with relief. I just didn’t like to feel like I was being judged for the wolf side of my nature, even if it wasn’t meant that way. I’m kinda touchy, I know, but if you judge the wolf you judge  _ me. _ That seemed like something even Richard didn’t understand. “I just went to that cafe two streets over. I used most of the cash you gave me.”

 

“That’s fine,” Richard said. “That’s what it was for.” He then began to move around the apartment a little, scrutinizing it with his beady gray eyes as he tried to ascertain the present condition of the room.

 

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms, but I said nothing. We both had an understanding that he felt the need to inspect the place casually, every once in a while, because he  _ was _ paying the rent and that included the security deposit. He just wanted to make sure none of my wolfish habits had damaged the place or affected the appearance in any way whatsoever… particularly if the owner of the building chose to inspect the room at some point.

 

However, since there were no signs of blood or other damage, there was nothing he could really say. I also knew he was grateful that this had been an unfurnished apartment when he originally began to rent it for me, because that meant we could both pick and choose what furniture went in here and we wouldn’t have to worry about any of it getting damaged if I had a wolf-out in here.

 

So it basically meant that the entire living room area was devoid of furniture… and so was the kitchen. You would almost think there was no one living here, apart from the small bed in my bedroom and my comfy blankets and pillows. There was no sofa, no chairs, no tables. There was a small end table sitting in the far corner of the living room where the television sat, but otherwise… yeah, this place was empty.

 

It didn’t really matter though, since… I never had any company, apart from Uncle Richard who never stayed long anyway. And I was perfectly content to sit on the floor or on the edge of my bed to eat my food… when I ate indoors, at least.

 

I had no real need for furniture. Besides… the first time I had changed into a wolf in Richard’s presence, I’d been angry and I destroyed his favorite sofa. It was no wonder he didn’t want to waste money on buying me furniture when… that might just happen in here.

 

“Oh, Uncle Richard,” I said when he headed toward the door--man I hated calling him that, but it was such a deeply ingrained habit by now I just couldn’t help it. “I need my shower head fixed.”

 

Richard dutifully turned toward the bathroom to look in at the shower. I knew it was just his way of assessing the situation. Some things, he just needed to see for himself first. “Alright,” he said, no doubt adding it to his mental list. “I’m going into town now. I’ll get your groceries and a shower head to replace that one.”

 

I forced myself to remember the social niceties… not that I had much of a reason to maintain the use of them. “Thank you,” I said, although I knew Richard didn’t really care much if I expressed gratitude or not at this point. In his mind he was just doing his duty and he pretty much ignored me when I thanked him anyway. I guess I was just feeling a little guilty about the nasty thoughts I had about his niece, so I was trying to be kind in a verbal way.

 

“You mentioned you went into town to eat at the cafe, after you ran out of food here?” Richard asked, hesitating as he neared the door.

 

“Yes, and I said I spent most of the money you gave me,” I reiterated, unsure why we had to go over this again.

 

Richard nodded. “You didn’t go out hunting at all?”

 

“Not this time.” Yes, Dad, you didn’t need to worry. Nobody saw me outdoors in wolf form while you were gone.

 

“Did anyone do anything to you while you were in town?”

 

Now I understood the reason for his concern. Normally, if I wanted or needed to go into town for any reason, he would usually try to talk me out of it and get whatever I needed himself or, at worst, he might accompany me personally. Some people still feared me and others hated me, and there were a small few who wanted me dead.

 

“Eh, I did go to the hardware store where some jerk threw me against the sidewalk,” I said with a dismissive shrug. “Otherwise, nothing happened.”

 

“You went to the hardware store?” Richard raised an eyebrow. “Is this about the shower head?”

 

“Yeah… I thought maybe I could replace it, but I didn’t know what type it was.”

 

“I see. So you went inside the hardware store?”

 

“Yes,” I stated stiffly. I wasn’t sure if I felt more like a little kid who’d wandered out of his yard, or if this was more like a suspect being interrogated lightly. However… I had to remind myself that Richard was just concerned for me along with everyone else in the area. None of us wanted any trouble, and I was a freak of nature. That meant I was a potential hazard at any given time.

 

“Did they try to have you thrown out?”

 

“...No.” 

 

Richard’s eyes narrowed, and I knew he’d caught something from my tone. Plus he probably noticed the way I was avoiding his gaze. “Something did happen, didn’t it?” he demanded. “What happened? Did they do something?” His forehead crinkled furthered. “Did  _ you _ do something?”

 

“No,” I snipped a bit too defensively. “No,” I repeated more gently, softening my features even as his hardened further. “There was just this really nice guy there, that’s all.”

 

My “Uncle” blinked. He said nothing, but his look indicated I should go on.

 

I drew in a deep breath. “Look, it was really nothing,” I said. “He seemed like a new guy in town. I hurt my hand when that jerk I mentioned pushed me into the sidewalk, and this new guy tried to help. He’s also the same guy who works in the hardware store, and when I said I didn’t know the type or model, he offered to come over here to look at it.”

 

“I see.” Richard seemed to mull this over for a moment. “Did you let him in?”

 

“No,” I snapped defensively. “I didn’t even tell him where I live. I’m not  _ that _ dumb or desperate for company.”

 

Richard continued to scrutinize me further, as though trying to pull something out of me that I wasn’t saying. What did he want me to say, exactly? What was he searching for?

 

“You’ve never seen this guy before,” Richard said slowly, “but he approached you when you fell, and offered to take time out of his busy day to look at your shower.” He seemed to be having some difficulty processing that one. Then again, both of us were a little paranoid and tended to overanalyze other people’s potential motives, thanks to… what happened a year ago, not to mention the fact that I’m a werewolf.

 

“Look, I don’t know anything about him and he didn’t say anything,” I shrugged. “He just seemed… nice, I guess. I don’t know if he’s heard anything about me or not.”

 

Richard pursed his lips thoughtfully, then sighed and ran a hand through his thinning hair. “Was it the hardware store on Fifth Street, next to--”

 

“The Chinese restaurant, yeah,” I interjected with a nod. “His name tag read, ‘David Barns’.”

 

I knew that the only reason both of us were talking about this so much was because it was… well, just so  _ rare _ for anybody to go out of their way to be so nice to me. There were some people who had offered to do things for me, to be my friend even, when they’d actually wanted to kill me or at least play mean tricks on me. But even if this David was not associated with them, why would a complete stranger who was new to the area be so interested in helping me? He probably didn’t know anything about me, and perhaps he did just want to be nice…

 

But considering the luck I’d had in this town, you couldn’t blame Richard and I for being a bit over-cautious.

 

“Well, I’ll head over there and check things out,” Richard finally said. “You need a shower head anyway, and they have decent prices.”

 

“Can I go with you?”

 

Somehow, that one sentence had escaped my lips before I even realized what I was saying. I instantly regretted it for two reasons. Uncle Richard’s  _ look _ was a big reason, but even moreso… it would mean I’d have to go  _ outside. _ Again.

 

“I beg your pardon?”

 

I felt my throat constrict. I wasn’t afraid of Uncle Richard or anything, it wasn’t like he could do anything to me and he would never threaten to stop paying my bills or anything. It’s just… I knew that both of us were thinking the same thing, and we had the same worries.

 

Several seconds passed. The silence was so tense I’m sure a pin drop would’ve sounded like a gun firing, particularly with my over sensitive hearing. 

 

Richard finally released a long, drawn out sigh. He seemed to sense whatever was floating around inside me without me having to say anything. “You want to see this David Barns again.” It wasn’t a question.

 

I said nothing, yet apparently my silence and my body language were answer enough.

 

“I didn’t think I would need to tell you the things that you already know very well,” Richard stated sternly. “Some of the people in this town know too much about you, and they might one day get up the nerve to hurt you or worse if you ever give them reason to.”

 

“Which is why I need to stay inside and not show people I’m a wolf,” I reiterated stiffly, much like a cadet telling his drill instructor that she knew what was what.

 

“We should thank our lucky stars that no one has tried to knock down your apartment room door and do something to you,” Richard went on. “Though it might just be that those who might want to try are still too afraid to approach you on your turf.”

 

“Then let me go outside for a bit,” I argued. “No one has seen the wolf for months. Nobody even seemed to care much that I was out there, apart from that one jerk.”

 

“Who was the jerk? Did you recognize him?”

 

“I think it was Pete.”

 

Richard gritted his teeth. “Yes… he was one of Jake’s closest friends.”

 

“Don’t remind me.”

 

“Annie,” Richard looked directly into my eyes, his tone softening, “I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. A lot of people in this town are still angry, still hurting, and they are not going to forget what happened here a year ago. Just because there is some new stranger in town who happened to be nice to you when you fell, it doesn’t mean--”

 

“I didn’t just fall, I was pushed,” I pointed out. “Mr. Barns yelled at Pete and came right over to help me as Pete ran.”

 

Richard raised an eyebrow. “So he’s a chivalrous fellow. Now I see why you’re a bit infatuated.”

 

_ “Infatuated?” _

 

“Even a werewolf lady can be drawn in by a white knight who appears out of nowhere, rushing to her side at her time of need,” Richard said, somehow managing a concerned frown and an amused grin at the same time.

 

“I can take care of myself!” I snipped indignantly. “I didn’t need him to look at my hand or offer to do anything for me.”

 

“But that’s not the point here, is it? It’s the fact that he  _ did _ do those things, and he offered you something of his own volition.” Richard sighed, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Annie, you’ve been alone for a long time. It’s only natural you might get fixated on someone who gives you positive attention, especially since you don’t get that very often. But he’s just a stranger, you don’t know anything about him. And I can bet dollars to donuts that once he found out you are a werewolf, he wouldn’t be so nice to you anymore.”

 

I didn’t appreciate being spoken down to like a child, slapped in the face with facts I already knew, that I had already been telling myself over and over. My brain is like a mobius strip, remember? But… I guess maybe I needed to hear this again from him, aloud. Because I was getting kinda stupid about this and I needed to be reminded of the facts.

 

“Stay here and forget about him,” Richard instructed me. “It will be much better that way in the long run.”

 

I nodded slowly. I tried to curb anything inside of me that wanted to protest this decision by imagining things in a different way. In my mind’s eye, I did my best to envision myself morphing into a wolf in front of this David guy, where my imagination then showed his eyes growing wide with horror and running away from me. From that point on, if that really did happen, I could see him in my mind’s eye either being too terrified to approach me, or looking at me with disdain, if not pure loathing. It would be worse when and if the hateful townsfolk got ahold of him after that point, and told him all about what happened a year ago and what a wretched creature I am.

 

Richard squeezed my shoulder when he saw my face fall as this brutal reality sunk in. “I wish it could be different,” he told me sincerely. “I really do.” I knew right there and then that if he could somehow go out and buy me a friend with his money, he would. But we both knew that’s not how genuine friendship worked. People either wanted to be around you and accept you as you were, or they didn’t. Money would never change any of that.

 

I think there was a part of him that deeply regretted the fact that his money, even if he had a fair bit of it, couldn’t do everything for me. Which was probably what compelled him even more to keep my fridge stocked and my bills paid for me.

 

At least I could continue to be grateful for that.

 

With nothing further to be said between us, since we had a mutual understanding in the silence that followed, Uncle Richard headed out to get the things I needed. I stared at the door for a little while after it shut behind him, certain that he would find a discreet and tactful way to speak to David if he saw him there.

 

I knew nothing much would happen, though. What could Richard really do, beyond satisfy his own curiosity a tad and feel out whether or not this David guy might be a nuisance in the future. However, Richard wasn’t in the habit of making trouble for other people, he just gathered intel if there was a random anomaly or some reason for potential concern. He would only speak to the authorities if there was a serious threat.

 

Either way… I knew it would be best to just forget about David. I doubted Richard would ever mention him again, and it would be best if I didn’t either.

 

0o0o0o0o0o0

 

Two or three hours passed, during which time I pretty much did nothing except pace around the apartment like a caged animal, occasionally taking catnaps. Eventually, the door once again opened to permit Uncle Richard to enter with his arms full of groceries.

 

I immediately kicked in by taking the bags from his arms, freeing him to go bring in whatever else he had to bring in from his car. It was my responsibility to put things away, since I was the one who lived here and there was a very specific way I wanted things arranged in the fridge. Just as I was halfway through putting things away, Uncle Richard had re-entered with another armload, which he gently set on the floor near the fridge… since there was no table to put them on.

 

After he brought in a third armful of groceries, he then murmured something about fixing the shower head. I glanced in his direction to see him tug something out of his coat pocket, a replacement shower head, which he promptly headed over to the bathroom to take care of for me. 

 

I spent the next several minutes arranging all of the food in my fridge and freezer the way I wanted it, then I folded up the paper bags and put them in the trash. Once I double-checked everything to see make sure it was to my liking, I gave a small nod of approval at the sight of a deliciously full fridge and made a beeline toward the bathroom.

 

I heard Richard grunting in annoyance in there. His toolbox was sitting wide open on the floor; he must have brought it in sometime while I was busy putting groceries away. Judging from the look of annoyance on his face, something wasn’t going quite as smoothly as we both would’ve liked.

 

It turned out that there was a little more wrong than just a leaky shower head, there was a problem with corrosion and leaking. The water was turning sort of a reddish yellow, after all.

 

“Why didn’t you mention this to me sooner?” Richard demanded.

 

“You were out of town,” I snipped right back.

 

“Don’t give me that. This has been going on for a long time, hasn’t it?”

 

“Yes… I didn’t want to make a big deal about it.”

 

Richard sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Look, I’m gonna have to call a plumber to take care of this. It might be best if you come over to my place until he’s finished.”

 

“I’d rather stay here.”

 

Richard gave me a look. “Annie, I’ve been thinking that maybe you should move back into my place anyway. It might be easier on us both, and I wouldn’t have to keep coming over here to check on things.”

 

So now we were going down  _ that _ road again, just because we hit an inconvenience. Now it was time for  _ me _ to remind  _ him _ of certain facts that he had obviously forgotten for the moment.

 

“First of all,” I stated firmly, “we tried that for a while shortly after Jake died, and we couldn’t  _ stand _ each other. Secondly, we have always felt it would be best if I don’t live in your house because we don’t want you to get a bad rep for having a Big Bad Wolf living there. Thirdly, I  _ need _ my personal space and I’m used to this place.”

 

I folded my arms and gave him a stubborn scowl. “When the plumber comes, I’ll just lock myself in my bedroom until he leaves. You can’t always keep me away from other people, Uncle Richard.”

 

“....Fine. I’ll call the plumber and have him get here ASAP.” Richard slammed his toolbox shut and picked it up. I could tell he didn’t like being lectured or reminded of facts any more than I did, though I did feel some satisfaction at putting him in his place.

 

He stepped out of the bathroom and stamped toward the door, his knuckles turning an off-white as his hand tightened around the handle of his toolbox. His free hand shot out and grasped the doorknob, yet he half-turned toward me instead of opening the door to leave.

 

“I met that David you mentioned at the hardware store,” he said, almost as an afterthought.

 

For a moment, I wasn’t entirely sure what to say or what he would even mention this. Normally, we did not discuss specific individuals in town unless there was some kind of problem, particularly since I didn’t interact with anyone,  _ ever. _

 

“Um, so?” I asked, wondering what the point was supposed to be.

 

“He’s a very nice man,” Richard said lightly. Something in his eyes and his tone suggested that he had been very mildly enraptured by the guy’s gentlemanly charm himself.

 

I blinked, still not quite sure what to say to this or what he expected me to say, if anything.

 

After a few seconds of silence, Richard finally went on. “I chatted with him for a few minutes when I went in to get your shower head.” He cleared his throat, removing some of the coarseness that had entered his voice. What exactly had they talked about?

 

“Uncle Richard, what happened?” I asked.

 

“Nothing much,” Richard shrugged one shoulder. “I did mention you a little, just to mention he’d made an impression on you. I kept most of our details private of course, but he did seem concerned about your hand. I told him you were fine.” Richard tilted his head to one side. “He was quick to deduce that the shower head I was buying was for you.”

 

“And?” I pressed, still wondering if this was actually going somewhere.

 

“Well, all I can say is that he’s a very nice person and he seems quite curious about other people and their well-being,” Richard finally said. “Doesn’t say much about himself. Not sure what to make of that yet.”

 

“Well, does he have any inkling that I’m a werewolf?”

 

“I don’t think so. I did casually ask him if he’d heard any of the town rumors about you, and it didn’t seem like he had.” Richard twisted the doorknob, more of a thoughtful motion than an indication he was in a hurry to leave. “I think I literally left the guy scratching his head in puzzlement. I mean, he was concerned, but I can tell he has an inquisitive mind; I didn’t tell him much of anything, that made him curious. And some of the questions I asked him… I think he caught on that there was a lot I wasn’t telling him.”

 

“So do you think he’s gonna be a problem or something?” I asked, still wondering why we were talking about this and why he was thinking about this so much. Either there was a problem here, or there was something else.

 

“I don’t know,” Richard said. “He doesn’t know where you live, as far as we know, and as long as both of us steer clear of the hardware store I don’t think we’ll need to have anything to do with him again.” He gave another half-shrug. “It’s probably best to just forget about him, like I said before.”

 

“I was going to just forget about him,” I pointed out. “You’re the one who brought him up again.”

 

“I was just telling you about my encounter with him.” Richard hefted his toolbox and finally opened the door. “I’ll give you a ring when I get ahold of a plumber. I trust you are well-stocked for now?”

 

“My fridge is full enough to burst. I should be alright for at least a couple of days.”

 

Richard nodded, then left without another word.

 

I locked the door behind him, then I sighed and pressed my back against it, leaning hard until my shoulder blades felt the pressure of the solid wood.

 

Somehow, I just couldn’t get that David fellow off my mind. Perhaps it was the prolonged loneliness and isolation, coupled with the fact that apparently even Uncle Richard seemed to really like the guy after only a brief encounter. But…

 

Part of me just hoped, somehow, in some way, that maybe…

 

Just  _ maybe… _

 

I would get a chance to see David one last time. 

 

It didn’t matter that whatever our acquaintanceship was between us would no doubt change if and when he found out I was a werewolf. The big reveal that you are a monster had a way of effecting dynamics and the general impression you left on other people. But… 

 

Maybe… maybe I could  _ try _ to see him, just one more time….


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 

When I awoke the next morning, I didn’t even need to look at the wall clock to know that I had slept in fairly late. My sleeping patterns were fairly irregular, especially since I had no life and my wolf side sometimes competed with my human side.

 

For the most part though, I was a nocturnal creature. I’d always been a night owl even back when I was human. Plus… I had been up late gorging myself a little on the food that Uncle Richard had gotten for me. Why not? It’s not like I had anything else better to do right now, and my heightened metabolism made it impossible for me to get fat in most cases.

 

That was every girl’s dream, wasn’t it? Eat as much as you want, whatever you want, and it never shows up on your stomach or hips. It just fed a ravenous monster within that could snap a grown man in half with its jaws.

 

I crawled out of bed and took a moment to glance at the wall clock as I entered the kitchen. I wasn’t even sure why I had a clock in every room in the house, though I guess part of me was a little obsessed with keeping track of time… not that I had anything to be on time  _ for. _ It was almost 11:30AM, which… yeah, didn’t mean anything for me.

 

Well, it would mean that David Barns had probably started his shift at the hardware store by now. I mentally kicked myself for allowing  _ that _ to be the first thing I thought of this morning, but… I couldn’t help it. I just couldn’t seem to get the guy out of my mind.

 

I ate a quick breakfast consisting of poptarts and a microwaved can of beans, feeling like that would hold me over after the feast I’d had last night. Once I finished eating, I cleaned up the kitchen as much as I needed to and very slowly made my way toward the door.

 

My foot hit something I hadn’t noticed on the floor near the door before. How could I have missed this? I reached down to pick it up, then I snorted softly. So apparently Uncle Richard had gotten me some lubricant for the squeaky door. He must have done this yesterday while I was putting groceries away, and he’d either forgotten the can or left it for me intentionally.

 

I turned over the can in my hand, noting that the label read WD-40. Okay… apparently I was wrong, it wasn’t called W240. Whatever. 

 

I set the can in the corner of the room closest to the door, then I unlocked the door and twisted the knob in my hand to give it an experimental swing open. No squeakiness. I should’ve noticed this when Uncle Richard left yesterday, and I was a little annoyed at myself for my lack of observation. I was usually very well-attuned to even the slightest changes in my apartment, since… I had no life outside of it.

 

Then again… I was kind of preoccupied with thoughts of what had happened in town, and… David. Especially since stuff like that was a tad out of the norm for me.

 

Just as I was working up the courage to stick a toe out the door, the phone rang. It startled me for a moment, though I quickly remembered that Uncle Richard had said he would be calling about a plumber. I sighed, shut the door, and made a beeline over to the phone. It was in the kitchen, next to the microwave on the counter.

 

I picked up the phone. “Yes?”

 

_ “Hey, Annie. I arranged to have a plumber come over to fix your pipes, but he won’t be able to get there until tomorrow afternoon at 1:00PM.” _

 

Well, that didn’t matter much to me. I didn’t plan on using the shower for a while anyway, and the fact that he wouldn’t be here until tomorrow wouldn’t disrupt my plans to… slip out now. I was just glad that the phone call had come  _ before _ I left, otherwise… Uncle Richard would’ve caught the fact that I wasn’t here. I always answered the phone because… unless I was out hunting, which I only did occasionally at night, I was  _ always _ here and I always picked up.

 

He was the only one who ever called me anyway.

 

“That’s fine,” I said. “Have a good day, Uncle Richard.”

 

He hung up on his own accord after that. I knew he wouldn’t consider me abrupt or dismissive; that’s just how our phone conversations ended. Short and sweet, then hang up and get on with our days… such as mine was.

 

I placed the receiver back where it belonged, then I drew in a deep breath and once again headed for the door. My hand hovered over the door knob for a moment, then I decided the best thing to do would be to once again rip off the proverbial bandage and just get it over with.

 

When I first stepped out of the apartment, I was painfully aware of each step I took and each footstep that seemed almost in-sync with each inhale and exhale. After a minute or two, though, I suddenly found my nerve again and it wasn’t long before I was turning around the corner and stepping onto the street where the Chinese restaurant came into view.

 

I tugged at my hood, making certain my head and face were more or less concealed and shoved my hands into my pockets. I never left the apartment without my hooded jacket, not unless I was planning to morph into wolf mode for a hunt at least. Sometimes though, people seemed to recognize me though even if I was wearing it.

 

Maybe there was something a tad conspicuous about a woman wearing a hood on a perfectly warm and clear day. But… well, at least I could often delay the inevitable.

 

The phone booth was empty, thank God. At least, I felt like thanking my deity until I glanced across the street and happened to notice none other than Pete. I stopped in my tracks, realizing afterward that I should’ve just kept walking if I really didn’t want anyone to notice me. He quickly observed the fact that I was looking at him, and then he seemed to recognize me.

 

I was getting ready to run, to possibly duck into the restaurant or the hardware store, but he simply kept walking. His eyes bore into my form like daggers as he continued along the sidewalk, giving a fresh meaning to the phrase “if looks could kill”, but I was fairly confident that he was not going to cross the street to do something to me.

 

I didn’t wait for him to vanish from sight. I ducked into the hardware store, wincing slightly as the bell above the door gave a sharp jingle to announce my entrance to everyone inside.

 

Thankfully though, the store seemed to be fairly empty… apart from David Barns and one other person who was browsing washers and bolts. My gaze lingered on the other individual for a moment to see if it was someone I might recognize, but I really couldn’t tell from this distance.

 

It took me a moment to realize that David Barns had approached me, and was addressing me. I suddenly felt the blood drain from my cheeks and fill my hands when I realized I was basically standing there like a complete fool. 

 

Why was I in here? Why had I left the seclusion and relative safety of my apartment? I had come here for absolutely no rhyme or reason except… just because…

 

“....I just wanted to see you again?”

 

Somebody please kill me now. I didn’t just say that part aloud, did I? Please God, if you’re listening right now, let the floor open up and swallow me. Thank you, amen.

 

“Well,” David gave a slight chuckle, “it’s nice to see you again. Is there something I can help you with?”

 

“No, I suppose not.” I felt like I was forcing words out of my throat and my blood vessels were making funny noises in my ears, making everything sound like I was underwater.

 

David regarded me with a tilt of his head, as though he was trying to figure me out a little. “How’s the shower head working out?”

 

“Oh, it’s fixed now.” I left it at that.

 

“Mhm. Well, that’s good. How is your hand?” 

 

I said nothing. I didn’t even move. I’d actually forgotten all about that. Most of my injuries, as long as they were superficial, never remained long so they were rarely all that significant in my mind. I was so used to my owies fading fast and, I was used to Uncle Richard being used to it and dismissing it, I had forgotten that someone else might not forget so readily.

 

I remained frozen in place as he continued to regard me in silence. “Let me see,” he finally said, his voice so soft I almost didn’t catch it. He was already reaching over to gently extract my right hand from my pocket, to look.

 

_ Stop him, leave NOW, _ some defensive part of my brain screamed at me, yet I continued to stand there like an immobile statue as this well-intentioned, nice stranger--but  _ stranger _ nevertheless--pulled my hand into view. The wolf inside of me was snarling, even if my external human shell didn’t show much of anything. This  _ stranger _ was in my space and he was going to see something private, he had no business doing this! The wolf inside me was furious at the audacity of him, but…

 

But what? He… he wasn’t being forceful. He murmured something, and I felt the wolf inside of me mellow down into little more than a rowdy puppy, for the moment at least.

 

My hand instinctively clenched into a fist as my fingers dug into my palm, and I felt his hand tighten just a little around my wrist. He was merely exerting a little stubborness of his own, though he could hardly be accused of hurting me or forcing the issue. I had a feeling that if I really protested or yanked hard, he would probably let me go. Maybe it was that sense that somehow persuaded me to just stay put.

 

“Did you go to a doctor?” he was asking me as he tried to insert his thumb gently under my clenched pinkie to encourage my fist to unclench. I could already see him eyeing my hand in a strange way, as though he knew something was a little “off” despite not fully seeing the wound.

 

I continued to maintain my silence. After a very mild and short-lived battle of wills between his index finger and thumb versus my clenched hand, somehow or other he finally managed to coax it open and, while still gripping my wrist, he used his other hand to uncurl my fingers like a door sprawling open in response to “Open Sesame”.

 

“Are  _ you _ a doctor?” I finally asked him as his eyes went just a little bug-eyed as he took in the sight of my perfectly healed flesh.

 

Now it was his turn to avoid a question, at least sorta. “I have some medical knowledge,” he said, and it seemed that was all he wanted to say on that matter. 

 

On the matter of my  _ hand, _ however….

 

“This is absolutely incredible,” he was telling me. I could tell that for the moment at least, he had completely forgotten that he was supposed to be working here, attentive to the shop and the needs of the customers, almost like he was in a completely different world. “I see no sign of injury!”

 

“Is that a bad thing?” I asked, making a feeble attempt to extract my hand, but he continued to hold onto it. The wolf inside of me was starting to snarl again, disliking the scrutiny. This man was trespassing on private territory, at least starting to.

 

“It shouldn’t be possible,” David said, meeting my eyes briefly before he looked back at my hand. “You had a very deep cut two days ago.”

 

While still grasping my wrist, he let go of my fingers with his other hand and touched the previously injured spot. Gingerly at first, as though his eyes might be deceiving him and an injury might still be there. He eyed me carefully for a split second, looking for any sign of discomfort as he gently increased the pressure, getting a better feel of the perfectly healed tissues. 

 

“Absolutely remarkable,” he breathed as he palpated the spot a bit more. He seemed to be double-checking for something, perhaps making certain there wasn’t any glass left in there somewhere, then he seemed content to just stare at the skin and feel the miracle with his very own fingertips. “Even if you took the glass out and bandaged it up, there should only be some scabbing over the tissues, it is far too soon for it to be healed. Without stitches, there would have been a scar as well.”

 

I finally had enough. I slapped his wrist to get his fingers off of mine and yanked my wrist out of his other hand. “Well then I guess it wasn’t as bad as you thought it was,” I snipped. At his incredulous look I quickly added, “Would you just stop it? You’re making it sound like it’s a bad thing that I’m not hurt. I’m okay, it wasn’t that bad, so  _ just drop it. _ ”

 

He said nothing, but he was giving me a certain look that implicated I was just insulting his intelligence and his observation skills, and thus, I was insulting both of us. He folded his arms as he met my eyes and held them with that same expression.

 

“Is that the freak?” I heard another voice say. I had forgotten about the other person in the store, who had apparently gotten somewhat closer.

 

I felt my face flush again and I tucked my hands into my armpits. My hood was still up, but he had apparently been listening and knew enough facts to guess what David was so astonished about. 

 

“Excuse me?” David said, shifting his gaze between me and the other person.

 

“Why don’t you just throw her out?” the man was saying now, getting a bit closer. I took a step back, turning my face further away from him even though I knew the effort was futile. He knew who I was, there was no point in hiding anymore. 

 

The man came over and grabbed my arm, yanking my hood away from my head. I gritted my teeth so hard my molars ached, feeling the wolf howl briefly, outraged, in my chest.

 

In the next instant, David’s hand shot out to remove the unwelcome hands from my person and my clothing. Thankfully, the other person did back off, though he glowered at David like he was some kind of fool.

 

Maybe he was.

 

“Don’t you touch me, man.” Wow, not only did that guy not like me, he could growl in a way that almost rivaled a wolf.

 

“Leave her alone.” How could David possibly sound so velvety yet so serious and firm at the same time?

 

“You’re gonna stick up for this  _ freak? _ What’s wrong with you, man? Don’t you know  _ anything _ about her?” Yeah, this was just the thing that Uncle Richard and I were always worried about. 

 

A yelp escaped my throat as he grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled backward, causing my scalp to protest. “Let me throw her out for you, it would be my pleasure.”

 

But David was already grabbing the other man’s arm. For a moment, I almost thought David might get slugged in the jaw, or that David himself might get more assertive. The other dude simply stared at him for a moment, first angry, then somewhat bewildered and dumbfounded. “Fine,” the man released me and backed up a step or two. “You wanna stick up for her? It’s your funeral, just like it was Jake’s!”

 

David didn’t touch me, but he did take a step to position himself somewhat between me and the other person. “I think I need to ask  _ you _ to leave now,  _ sir, _ ” he said quietly, but firmly.

 

The man straightened and tugged on the edge of his shirt to smooth out the creases, sticking out his chin, his lips thinning into a scowl. “I  _ will _ go. I want nothing to do with any place of business that welcomes this animal.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked out, the bell jangling in protest as the door swung shut behind him with far more force than necessary.

 

I simply stood there, glued to the spot, feeling rather flustered. Once again, my voice had frozen in my throat and I felt I wouldn’t be able to speak anytime soon. The wolf inside me, however, seemed like it would happily oblige for me if only I would it come out to snarl and howl in the place of my human form, and it might happily make short work of the nearby shelves and merchandise, too.

 

Which was exactly what worried me.

 

I shouldn’t have come here. I really shouldn’t have.

 

“Are you alright?” 

 

David had to repeat the question once, I realized, before I’d even heard him. And I only noticed he was addressing me when he finally placed a light hand on my shoulder. 

 

Even if I could find my voice, I wouldn’t have had a chance to answer. Another man was coming toward us now, one who was no doubt the owner and manager of the place.

 

His eyes widened when he saw me. “David,” he snapped, “get her out of here  _ now. _ ”

 

“What?” If anything, I felt David’s hand tighten just a little bit, almost protectively, while it was still in place on my shoulder. “Mr. Johns, she was just--”

 

“Don’t you  _ dare _ argue with me about this, David! That  _ thing,” _ he pointed directly at my face, a hairline shy of poking me in the nose with his index finger, “is  _ not _ welcome in here. It shouldn’t be welcome in this  _ town! _ ”

 

Mr. Johns then grabbed my other shoulder and gave me enough of a shove to stagger me toward the door. I managed to catch my balance on the edge of the frame and, when I glanced back, I saw David’s face lit up with a mixture of outrage and confusion.

 

Well, this was probably it, then. David was, without a doubt, going to start finding out all about me from others in this town… starting with his boss.

 

“Fine, I’ll get out!” I finally croaked, finding at least something of my voice. “I doubt your  _ employees _ would want to be around a freak like me anyway!” Okay, maybe that was rather mean. I would kinda think so later. But that was directed at David, and maybe in my own weird way, that was kinda like saying goodbye to him. After this… he wouldn’t want anything to do with me, right?

 

I ran out of the store, my cheeks burning as tears stung the corners of my eyes. I thought I heard a shout behind me, but the words were drowned out by that stupid bell and the slamming of the door behind me.

 

I turned to begin running down the street, wanting nothing more than to get back to my damn apartment and lock myself in forever, but I was stopped short. I slammed into something solid, hard enough to make it and me stagger off-balance, even if neither of us fell.

 

The person I ran into ended up holding onto me as I gripped his sleeves. Both of us were trying to keep ourselves and perhaps one-another from falling. Just as we both stabilized, however, our eyes met.

 

Then both of us took a hasty step backward, putting at least five feet between us. 

 

It was Pete.

 

“Just get out of my way,” I hissed through gritted teeth. My voice shook. The human in me was pleading him, the wolf in me was angry. I didn’t want any trouble… the wolf wanted to give him a warning snap on the ankle.

 

“Oh yeah? What will you do if I don’t?” Pete thrust his hand on the spot between my breast bone and my throat, shoving me a couple steps back. He showed no sign of letting up, closing the space between us and preparing to do it again. “Come on, why don’t you get all wolfy and tear me apart like you did Jake?”

 

“That wasn’t my fault!” I snapped, angry tears streaming down my face before I could stop them. “I told you--”

 

“It’s  _ your _ fault that Jake became a monster.” Pete shoved me again in the same place and this time, my footing slipped and I fell hard on my tailbone. I grimaced as fresh pain shot up my backside and legs. Pete then pushed me against the ground, then placed a heavy boot on my rib cage.

 

“HEY!” That time I heard a yell. I noticed it particularly since it was the first time I’d heard  _ that _ particular voice yell at all. “Get off of her!”

 

I didn’t quite see what happened, just that there was this blur and Pete was knocked off of me. When I managed to push myself up into a seated position, I saw Pete and David tussling a bit in the middle of the street. It looked like Pete didn’t want to let up, especially since he didn’t like a busybody interfering. In his mind, he had every right to harass me.

 

My eyes widened when I saw a vehicle coming, straight toward the two wrestling men. Worse, they were right in the middle of the lane where the truck was coming.

 

What happened next, happened very fast.

 

Pete was the first to notice that the truck was coming, thus he had more of an opportunity to move. He gripped David’s face and shoved him against the ground, then stepped on his shoulder blade to give himself a boost back onto the sidewalk. David cried out, though the sound was almost drowned out by the sound of a blaring horn and screeching tires as the truck attempted to swerve.

 

I stayed where I was, as if frozen. What could I do? There wasn’t anything I could do fast enough… was there?

 

“Filthy bitch, look at all the trouble you’ve caused,” Pete was saying as he aimed another kick at me, this time at my head. I somehow managed to move enough so that his boot collided with my shoulder instead of my temple.

 

The truck had swerved to the other side of the road where it had hit a fire hydrant, no doubt taking some mild damage. But… what about David? Was he okay?

 

A loud, almost thunderous noise caused both Pete and I to look up in perfect unison at the source. Right there, in the middle of the street, stood a great big… green man. Big, muscular, green. Everything about him was  _ green. _ His skin, his hair, his eyes…

 

I stared, transfixed, fascinated. What the hell was this? Where did he come from?

 

Beside me, Pete looked like he was getting ready to soil his drawers… if he hadn’t already. That was fair, I supposed, considering he had already been traumatized by monsters once and knew that they were real. He knew of the harm they could cause.

 

The big green man gave another thunderous roar, his upper body bulging as he clenched his fists and arched his arms in front of him. He was clearly not very happy about something. 

 

Then, as if to vent some of his displeasure, he turned and moved closer to the truck and placed his hands under the frame, close to the front tire. The truck driver yelped and got out of the driver’s seat in record time, running for cover as the green creature lifted the vehicle and turned it over as if it was light as a feather.

 

Apparently satisfied that he had gotten whatever revenge he wanted on the truck, the big green man turned to look at Pete and I.

 

Then he roared again, and the oddest, most random thought popped into my head as I continued to stare.  _ His teeth aren’t green… _

 

I did let out a little yelp as he quickly advanced toward us, but my nerves settled a little when I realized he was going after Pete, not me. He growled and matter-of-factly grabbed the guy by the front of the shift and hefted him high above his own head.

 

Pete was pale as a sheet now and shaking like a leaf. I also couldn’t help but notice that yes, his britches were quite damp. The green guy barely had to growl in his face; the bared teeth were more than enough. Pete’s eyes rolled back into his skull as he fainted.

 

The green man continued to hold Pete a moment longer, as though momentarily perplexed or uncertain what to do. Then he gave one last growl, as though disgusted with the bully that he held, and dropped him on the sidewalk. Apparently, Pete no longer held any interest to the vengeful creature before me.

 

For a moment, the green creature turned to regard me, though I somehow sensed that he held no malice toward me. His teeth were no longer bared, and he was looking down at me as if he was… curious? Concerned?

 

He got a little bit closer to me, and I wasn’t sure what he was going to do. Any sane person probably would have gotten up and started to run by now, but… for some reason, I just couldn’t move. And this time, it wasn’t necessarily because I was emotionally distraught.

 

“Who are you?” I asked, allowing some of my fascination to seep into my voice. He grunted, tilting his head to one side. 

 

Then I thought I noticed something, especially as he came just a little closer. This wasn’t something I… talked to people about, but my wolf side had a fairly keen sense of smell. I could even remember other people’s scents, especially if they’d made an impression on me somehow. Each and every person had their own distinct scent, after all.

 

It…?

 

_?????? _

 

This wasn’t possible… was it?

 

But… the scent was the same.

 

“....David?”

 

Due to the flicker in his eye and the slight grunt in response to my query, I could only assume this was him.

 

He began to stoop down and reach toward me, as if he wanted to pick me up and take me away from here. What, King Kong wanted to rescue the brunette beauty and take her away to his tower? If only he knew I was really the Big Bad Wolf….

 

Something caught his attention, though. I turned my head, craning my neck to see what he was looking at. It seemed that David’s boss, Mr. Johns, had opened the door and was gaping at the sight before him.

 

“Get out of here, you freaks!” the man yelled.

 

The green creature roared in protest, apparently having other ideas. It seemed that this creature had a bit of a beef with his own boss at the moment, too, at least while he was like this.

 

Mr. Johns quickly backed up and shut the door as the beast advanced. I saw David’s alter ego pluck a street sign out of the ground as though he were pulling up a weed, then he tossed it right through the front windows of the hardware store.

 

….He sure didn’t pull any punches when he was angry, did he?

 

For good measure, the green creature then ripped the door off of its hinges and even took that annoying bell into his fist and crushed it for good measure.

 

Hallelujah for small favors. 

 

I had no idea where Mr. Johns had gone, but he was no longer in sight. He’d probably run to the back of the store or possibly left through a back exit.

 

There was a moment of moderate stillness as the green man stopped and seemed to look around. I almost wondered if the creature was trying to determine if there was anything  _ else _ he wanted to smash in retaliation against anything that had irritated him within recent minutes.

 

His head snapped up, however, when a siren could be heard in the distance. It was clear that the police were on their way, and they would be showing up soon. He glanced about, as though momentarily disoriented and trying to determine where to go.

 

“Hey, David!” I finally got to my feet, finding I could move easily now. Any minor injuries caused by my falling, or by Pete, had already healed up. I wouldn’t even have any bruises now. “You are David, right?” I held out my hand to him.

 

He didn’t answer, he only gave a grunt. I almost thought I saw the faintest spark of David’s regular side, though, when his eyes did linger on my right hand for a moment longer than necessary.

 

Yeah, this was him.

 

“Um… come on,” I told him, touching his arm. “We don’t wanna be here when the police get here. Just… come on, I’ll take you to my place.”

 

It took a little coaxing to get him to go in the direction I wanted him to go, be he certainly didn’t argue about moving. Especially as the sirens grew louder.


End file.
